Increasing use of gasoline-powered vehicles significantly contributes to environmental pollution, noise and depletion of crude oil reserves. Electrically-powered vehicles are known to solve some of the problems associated with gasoline-powered vehicles, but such vehicles are not yet in widespread use. Electrically-powered vehicles have certain drawbacks as compared to vehicles powered by conventional gasoline engines and newer hybrid vehicles.
Significant drawbacks include limited travel range between battery recharging and excessive time required for recharging the batteries. The average travel distance between battery recharging for currently available electrically powered vehicles is considerably less than the travel distance achieved between gasoline refills of gasoline or hybrid powered vehicles. Also, it usually takes several hours to recharge the batteries during which time the vehicle remains inoperative.
Use of electrically-powered vehicles with the concomitant environmental advantages can be significantly increased by enlarging the travel range of electrically-powered vehicles between battery recharging downtimes. One way to increase the travel range of electrically-powered vehicles is to charge the batteries while the vehicle is in motion. Typically, this has been accomplished by using wind resistance to generate electrical power. Many variations on this theme have been described in the art, but all have inherent limitations. Accordingly, there is still a continuing need to develop more efficient ways to charge batteries while the vehicle is in motion. The present invention fulfills this need and further provides related advantages.